Electromagnetic make-and-break ignition device for a pocket lighter

ABSTRACT

A make-and-break magneto especially for a pocket lighter having a substantially rectangular shape and comprising a permanent magnet forming at least a part of one side of the rectangle, magnetic conductors secured to and carrying the magnet, at least a part of one of the conductors forming a core which forms the opposite side of the rectangle and carries coil windings, and an armature pivotably connected by a bearing to the end of the magnet-carrying side; the upper end of the magnet itself or of one of the magnetic conductors forming an extension of the magnet being bent obliquely upwardly in the direction toward the axis of the core, and the upper ends of the core and of the extensions forming contact surfaces which are obliquely inclined to the axis of the core and extend within a common plane, and the armature having corresponding contact surfaces which are likewise inclined to said axis and extend within a common plane. The armature is pivotably mounted in such a position that, when the magnetic circuit is closed by said armature, the two planes of the associated contact surfaces coincide with each other and these contact surfaces engage fully with each other.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Richard I-lalm 7061 BattmannsweilerKreis, Schorndorfer Strasse 8, Esslingen Am Nekan, Germany 1211 Appl.No. 808,261 [22] Filed Mar. 18, 1969 [45] Patented May 25, 1971 [32]Priority Mar. 21, 1968 [33] Austria [31] 2,839

[54] ELECTROMAGNETIC MAKE-AND-BREAK IGNITION DEVICE FOR A POCKET LIGHTER7 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 317/81, 315/218, 317/96, 336/178, 431/255 [51] Int. Cl F23g3/01 [50] Field of Search 317/81, 79, 93-2, 96-7;43l/13,256, 255;336/105, 178; 123/149; 310/66, 69, 70, 152; 322/91; 315/218 [56]References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,424,950 l/l969 Halm... 317/933,444,435 5/1969 Halm 317/81 3,449,636 6/1969 Wosylus 317/81 3,458,7657/1969 Schindler Primary Examiner-Velodymyr Y. Mayewsky AttorneyWatson,Cole, Grindle and Watson ABSTRACT: A make-and-break magneto especiallyfor a pocket lighter having a substantially rectangular shape andcomprising a'permanent magnet forming at least a part of one side of therectangle, magnetic conductors secured to and carrying the magnet, atleast a part of one of the conductors forming a core which forms theopposite side of the rectangle and carries coil windings, and anarmature pivotably connected by a bearing to the end of themagnet-carryingside; the upper end of the magnet itself or of one of themagnetic conductors fonning an extension of the magnet being bentobliquely upwardly in the direction toward the axis of the core, and theupper ends of the core and of the extensions forming contact surfaceswhich are obliquely inclined to the axis of the core and extend within acommon plane, and the armature having corresponding contact surfaceswhich are likewise inclined to said axis and extend within a commonplane. The armature is pivotably mounted in such a position that, whenthe magnetic circuit is closed by said armature, the two planes of theassociated contact surfaces coincide with each other and these contactsurfaces engage fully with each other.

PATENTED was I9?! Fig. 7

5 Fig.4

ELECTROMAGNETIC MAKE-AND-BREAK IGNITION DEVICE FOR A POCKET LIGHTER Thepresent invention relates to a make-and-break igniting magnetoespecially for a pocket lighter which is provided with a substantiallyrectangular magnetic circuit which may be opened and closed andcomprises a permanent magnet and several magnetic conductors one ofwhich carries at least one coil, and in which two adjacent magneticconductors at the end of one side of the rectangle are divided into afixed conductor and a pivotable conductor or armature which is providednear its opposite ends with contact surfaces which, when the magneticcircuit is closed, respectively engage with the fixed magnetic conductorat the mentioned side of the rectangle and with the other fixed magneticconductor which carries I the coil windings.

The prior art discloses a make-and-break igniter magneto of the type asabove described and also for a lighter, in which the movable magneticconductor or armature is provided with contact surfaces which aredisposed at an angle to each other and one of which, when the magneticcircuit is closed, engages upon the fixed conductor, which is located atthe same side of the rectangle on which the armature is mounted, whilethe other contact surface engages upon the conductor which car ries thecoils. This device has the disadvantage that, since unavoidabletolerances occur in the production of the magnetic conductors, theassociated contact surfaces usually do not engage fully with each otherso that the resulting airgaps cause an undesirable transfer resistancewhich considerably reduces the ignition power of the magneto. Forattaining a make-andbreak igniting magneto of the smallest possibledimensions it is therefore necessary especially because of the differentangularity of the contact surfaces to expend considerable time andeffort so as to finish the associated contact surfaces so that they willengage so fully with each other that the airgaps between them will beas'small as possible. For reducing the transfer resistance, it has alsoalready been proposed to increase the width of the end of the fixedcoil-carrying magnetic conductor which is to engage with the movablearmature so as to have a shape similar to a pole shoe. This increase inthe width of the end of the coil-carrying conductor requires, however,not only the low-tension winding but also the high-tension winding ofthe coil to be wound separately on this conductor which requires aconsiderable length of time and does not permit the high-tension windingto be produced as a separate coil by a separate automatically operatingwinding machine.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a makeand-breakigniting magneto of a simple construction which may be easily andaccurately produced and has the highest possible igniting power bypreventing transfer resistances in the magnetic circuit as much aspossible.

According to the invention, this object is attained by designing thecontact surfaces of the pivotable conductor or armature so as to bedisposed within a common plane, and the operatively associated contactsurfaces on the fixed magnetic conductor at one side of the rectangleand on the coil-carrying conductor or core to be likewise disposedwithin a common plane, and by pivotably mounting the armature so that,when the magnetic circuit is closed, the two planes of the contactsurfaces coincide at least substantially with each other and thus form asingle common plane.

When designing the magneto in this manner, it is very easy to finish thecontact surfaces of the armature very accurately, since they lie withinthe same plane. The contact surfaces of the fixed conductor at one sideof the rectangle and of the coil-carrying conductor or core at theopposite side may likewise be finished very easily and accurately whenthe parts of the magnetic circuit are assembled with the exception ofthe pivotable armature which is subsequently installed. Since thecontact surfaces on the armature and those on the fixed magneticconductors lie within common planes, there is no need to fit theassociated surfaces so as to engage properly with each other. Thedifiicult and timewasting finishing and fitting operation as waspreviously required is therefore no longer required. Furthermore, theassociated contact surfaces may be easily finished so as to engage fullyand very accurately with each other and to avoid practically any airgapbetween them since such a gap now merely depends upon the surfacequality of the associated contact surfaces which may be made ofa highorder by grinding these surfaces.

According to another feature of the invention, the fixed magneticconductor on the side of the rectangle on which the movable conductor orarmature is pivotably mounted is preferably designed so that the planeswhich are determined by the contact surfaces extend at an oblique angleto the core axis of the coils, and so that the end of the fixed magneticconductor at the side of the rectangle on which the armature is mountedalso extends at an oblique angle to the core axis but in the oppositedirection to the angle of the contact surfaces and thus at an angletoward the core axis. This permits the armature to be made of a simpleshape and to be pivotably mounted in a very simple manner in a positionwhich is sufficiently space from the adjacent contact surface withoutincreasing the dimensions of the magneto.

In order to insure that the two planes which are formed by theassociated contact surfaces coincide with each other when they fullyengage with each other, the bearing bores in the armature and in thesupporting element of the fixed parts of the magnet should be drilled soas to be coaxial. The same result may also be attained by providing thebearing of the armature with a sufficient amount of play. In eithercase, the associated contact surfaces will then fully engage with eachother and undesirable airgaps between them will be avoided as much aspossible. If the bearing for the armature is made so as to have asufficient play, the associated contact surfaces will automaticallyadapt themselves so as to engage fully with each other when the magneticcircuit is closed.

lf the bearing part which is provided on one end of the pivotablearmature which is spaced from its two contact surfaces is disposedbetween two bearing parts of a nonmagnetic supporting element of aU-shaped cross section which connects the permanent magnet to theadjacent fixed magnetic conducting element, and if this bearing part onthe armature is also spaced from the free end of this fixed conductingelement, the entire magneto may be made very compact and a conductiveengagement between the fixed parts of the magneto and the armature willbe rendered impossible when the armature is pivoted away from thecontact surfaces on the fixed magnetic conductors. Thus, there will heno reduction in power of the magneto due to any conductive engagement ofany parts other than the associated contact surfaces.

Another feature of the invention for attaining a make-andbreak magnetoof a construction which may be easily produced and which avoids transferresistances within the magnetic circuit as muchas possible consists inproviding the inclined contact surface on the outwardly enlarged end ofthe coil-carrying magnetic conductor or core. This end is made of aradial size so as to permit a high-tension coil to be applied on the lowtension coil. The diameter of this outer end of the core should be madeonly sightly smaller than the inner diameter of the high-tension coil.The high-tension coil may then be slipped in its axial direction overthe enlarged end of the core and then over the low-tension coil on thecore itself. This has the considerable advantage that the high-tensioncoil which has a very large number of windings may be produced veryeconomically together with a series of other coils in an automaticallyoperating winding machine in which the individual layers of windings ofthis coil may also be very accurately wound and properly insulated fromeach other.

All of the magnetic conductors of the magneto according to the inventionincluding the pivotable armature and the coilcarrying core arepreferably made of laminated sheet metal, the individual laminations ofwhich are insulated from each other, and it is another feature of theinvention to provide the inclined contact surface, on the end of thecore by making the two opposite outer laminations of this core of athicker material than the. inner laminations and of a greater length,and by bending the projecting ends at right angles to the axis of thecore and also to the desired inclined plane in accordance and inalignment with that of the end of the inner laminations of the core soas to form the inclined contact surface. The diametrically outer edgesurfaces of these flangelike ends are rounded so as to have a diameterslightly smaller than the inner diameter of the high-tension coil.

The features and advantages of the present invention will become furtherapparent from the following detailed description thereof which is to beread with reference to the accompanying drawings in which FIG. 1 shows aside view partly in section of an ignition device according to theinvention for a pocket lighter;

FIG. 2 shows a side view of the upper part of FIG. I, but with theelements thereof shown in a different position;

FIG. 3 shows an end view of the ignition device as seen in the directionof the arrow A in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 shows a top view of the ignition device according to FIG. 1, fromwhich, however, the upper parts are omitted;

FIG. 5 shows a cross section which is taken along the line V-V of FIG.4; while FIG. 6 shows a circuit diagram of the ignition device.

As illustrated in the drawings, the ignition device according to theinvention comprises a permanent magnet 1 which is located betweenlaminated magnetic conducting elements 2 and 3 which are secured to themagnet 1 by means of a connecting and supporting element 4 of a U-shapedcross section. The adjacent contact surfaces of magnet l and of theconducting elements 2 and 3 are ground in accordance with each other.The connecting element 4 is substantially L-shaped, as seen from theside according to FIG. 1, and consists of a nonmagnetic material whichmay be welded to the conducting elements 2 and 3. The U-shaped part ofthis element 4 embraces the permanent magnet l and the adjacent parts ofthe magnetic conducting elements 2 and 3 on three sides.

The conducting element 3 has an arm 5 forming a core upon which alow-tension coil 6 is wound upon which, in turn, a high-tension coil 7is slipped in its axial direction. The free end of this conductingelement 3 is enlarged in width by laterally projecting flanges 8 and 8'which have an outer diameter substantially equal to the outer diameterof the low-tension coil 6 so as to permit the high-tension coil 7 topass over these flanges when being slipped over the winding 6.

The core 5 on the conducting element 3 has a circular cross section andis composed like the remainder of this conducting element 3 and like theconducting element 2 of iron laminations which are insulated from eachother. The remainder of the conducting element 3 and the conductingelement 2 have a square or rectangular cross section. The two outerlaminations of the core 5 consist of a thicker material than the innerlaminations and project beyond the latter. These projecting ends arebent outwardly so as to form the flanges 8 and 8 the outer ends of whichare rounded in accordance with the outer diameter of the low-tensioncoil 6.

The connecting element 4 is provided with extensions which projectbeyond the conducting element 2 and on which an armature 9 is pivotablymounted which likewise consists of sheet iron laminations which are heldtogether by and are secured to a lever part 10 which adjacent to theconnecting element 4 has a U-shaped cross section. The armature 9 has awidth substantially equal to the outer diameter of the flanges 8 and 8'.

The pivotable armature 9 has a contact surface 11 which is adapted toengage upon a corresponding contact surface 11 on the free end of thecore 5 including the outer surfaces of the flanges 8 and 8', and it hasa further contact surface 12 which is adapted to engage upon a contactsurface 12' on the upper side of the fixed conducting element 2. The twocontact surfaces 11 and 12 of the armature 9 are disposed within acommon plane and the contact surfaces 11' and 12 of core 5 which areassociated with the contact surfaces 11 and 12 likewise lie within acommon plane which extends at an acute angle to the axis of the core 5.The upper part of the conducting element 2 likewise extends at an acuteangle to the axis of core 5, but in the opposite direction so that theaxis of this part of the element 2 intersects at an acute angle with thecontact surface 12 on this element.

The armature 9 is pivotably mounted in such a position on the projectingends of the connecting element 4 that within this area the armature willin any position of its movement be spaced from the fixed conductingelement 2 so that no magnetic shunt will occur in this area between thearmature 9 and the conducting element 2. For attaining an accurateengagement of the contact surfaces 11 and 12 with the associated contactsurfaces 11' and 12', the bearing hole of the armature 9 may be drilledwhile the contact surfaces 11 and 12 are in engagement with theassociated contact surfaces 11 and 12', whereupon a bearing pin 13 isinserted into this hole or the armature may be mounted with such anamount of bearing play on the pin 13 that when the contact surfaces 11and 12 move toward the associated contact surfaces 11' and 12', theywill automatically adapt themselves to each other and will fully engagewith each other.

The contact surfaces 11 and 12 then engage fully with the associatedcontact surfaces 11' and 12' so that the transfer resistance which wouldotherwise occur at these surfaces will be considerably reduced. Due tothe particular shape of the flanges 8 and 8 which also serve forreducing the transfer resistance and permit the core 5 to be made ofasmall cross-sectional size, a finished high-tension coil may be slippedin its axial direction over the low-tension coil which is wound directlyupon the core. The high-tension winding may therefore by produced veryeconomically in a separate automatic winding machine.

For actuating the armature 9, an angular control lever (not shown) isconnected thereto, which may either be of a resilient construction or beactuated by a spring so that the armature 9 may be easily pulled off thecontact surfaces 11' and 12' on the magnet core 5 and the conductingelement 2.

Two ends of the coil windings 6 and 7 are connected to each other, asshown in FIG. 6, while the other two ends of these coils are connectedto electrodes 14 and 15, respectively. The point of connection betweenthe two windings 6 and 7 is connected by a switch 16 which is bridged bya condenser 17 to the connecting line between the other end of thewinding 6 and the electrode 14. The connecting line between the winding6 and the electrode 14 is connected to ground at 18. When the armature 9is being pulled off the magnet core 5, its movement will also betransmitted to the switch 16 so as to actuate the same. The electrictension which is produced by the electromagnetic system is therebyreleased so that a spark will jump over between the electrodes 14 and15. As soon as the actuating member for the armature 9 is released bythe operator of the lighter, the armature will return to its initialposition, as shown in FIG. 1. The arrangement of the actuating lever,the switch, and other elements which are necessary for the operation ofthe lighter are described and illustrated, for example, in the Germanutility patents GM l,887,l32 and 1,902,271.

Although not particularly illustrated in the drawings, the permanentmagnet 1 may also be made of a shape other than rectangular by extendingit so as to include the shape of the fixed conducting element 2 so thatthe latter forms an integral part of the magnet. The contact surface 12of the pivotable armature 9 and the contact surface on the permanentmagnet are then directly associated with each other and no fixedconducting element is interposed between the armature 9 and thepermanent magnet. This would permit the ignition device to be made ofsmaller dimensions than that as previously described without any loss infield intensity which is dependent upon the volume of the magnet, andthus also without any loss in ignition power.

Although my invention has been illustrated and described with referenceto the preferred embodiments thereof, I wish to have it understood thatit is in no way limited to the details of such embodiments but iscapable of numerous modifications within the scope of the appendedclaims.

Having thus fully disclosed my invention, what I claim is: l. A make-and-break ignition magneto especially for pocket lighters comprising anessentially rectangular magnetic circuit ducting element, a movablemagnetic circuit element pivotally connected with the other of saidconducting elements, said other conducting element and said core eachhaving a contacting surface, said movable magnetic circuit elementhaving a pair of contacting surfaces each complementary with each ofsaid other conducting elements and said core contact surfaces, all ofsaid contacting surfaces lying in a common plane obliquely to the axisof said core, means for opening and closing said magnetic circuit toeffect a change in the magnetic flux conducted in the magnetic circuitand thereby to induce an electrical current in said electrical coil, apair of electrodes forming a spark gap, an electrical circuitelectrically connecting the spark electrodes to the electrical coilwhereby a spark is generated across said spark electrodes when themagnetic circuit is opened after said complementary contacting surfaceshave been fully in contact with one another.

2. A makeand-break igniting magneto as defined in claim 1, furthercomprising a connecting and supporting element for connecting saidmagnet to said magnetic conducting elements,

said movable magnetic circuit element being connected with said otherconducting element by a bearing means which comprises bearing bores inone end of said movable magnetic circuit, element spaced from itscontact surfaces and bearing bores in one end of said supportingelement, said bearing bores being coaxial when said complementarycontact surfaces are fully in engagement with one another, and a bearingpin extending through said bores.

3. A make-and-break magneto as defined in claim 1, further comprising aconnecting and supporting element for connecting said magnet to saidmagnetic conducting elements, said movable magnetic circuit elementbeing connected with said other conducting element by a bearing meanswhich comprises the walls of bores in one end of said movable magneticcircuit element spaced from its contact surfaces and the walls of boresin one end of said supporting element, said bearing a bearing pinextending through said bores but having such an amount of bearing pinextending through said bores but having such an amount of bearing playrelative to at least one of said bore walls that, when said movablemagnetic circuit element is pivoted so as to close the magnetic circuit,said contact surfaces of said movable magnetic circuit element adaptthemselves automatically to the associated contact surfaces of saidother conducting element and of said core so as to engage fully thereon.

4. A make-and-break magneto as defined in claim 2, in

. which said supporting element consists of a nonmagnetic bores beingsubstantially coaxial when said complementary contact surfaces are infull engagement with one another, and

material and has a U-shaped cross section having two arms embracing andconnected to said permanent magnet and at least parts of said conductingelements, the free ends of said arms containing said bearing boresspaced from said contact surfaces, said one end of said movable magneticcircuit element being disposed between said free ends of said arms andspaced -at all times from said other conducting element, said bore insaid one end being coaxial with said bores in said ends of said arms,said bearing pin extending through all of said bores.

5. A make-and-break magneto as defined in claim 1, in which said coilmeans comprises a low-tension coil, said free end of said coreprojecting entirely through said low-tension coil and being enlarged andforming said core contact surface and having an outer width notexceeding the outer diameter of said low-tension coil, and high-tensioncoil slipped in its axial direction over said core contact surface andover said low-tension coil. I

6. A make-and-break magneto as defined in claim 5, in

which each of said magnetic conducting elements including said core andsaid movable magnetic conducting element consists of a plurality ofsheet iron laminations insulated from one another, the opposite outerlaminations of said core being thicker than the inner laminationsthereof and being bent outwardly at right angles to the axis of saidcore so as .to form a pair of flanges, the outer surfaced of saidflanges being disposed within the same planeas the end of said coreinner laminations and together forming one of said core contact surface.

7. A make-and-break magneto as defined in claim 1, in which said otherconducting element forms an integral part of said permanent magnet.

1. A make-and-break ignition magneto especially for pocket lighterscomprising an essentially rectangular magnetic circuit comprising apermanent magnet and two magnetic conducting elements respectivelysecured to opposite ends of said permanent magnet, electrical coil meanscarried by one of said conducting elements at its free end, a core onsaid one conducting element, a movable magnetic circuit elementpivotally connected with the other of said conducting elements, saidother conducting element and said core each having a contacting surface,said movable magnetic circuit element having a pair of contactingsurfaces each complementary with each of said other conducting elementsand said core contact surfaces, all of said contacting surfaces lying ina common plane obliquely to the axis of said core, means for opening andclosing said magnetic circuit to effect a change in the magnetic fluxconducted in the magnetic circuit aNd thereby to induce an electricalcurrent in said electrical coil, a pair of electrodes forming a sparkgap, an electrical circuit electrically connecting the spark electrodesto the electrical coil whereby a spark is generated across said sparkelectrodes when the magnetic circuit is opened after said complementarycontacting surfaces have been fully in contact with one another.
 2. Amake-and-break igniting magneto as defined in claim 1, furthercomprising a connecting and supporting element for connecting saidmagnet to said magnetic conducting elements, said movable magneticcircuit element being connected with said other conducting element by abearing means which comprises bearing bores in one end of said movablemagnetic circuit element spaced from its contact surfaces and bearingbores in one end of said supporting element, said bearing bores beingcoaxial when said complementary contact surfaces are fully in engagementwith one another, and a bearing pin extending through said bores.
 3. Amake-and-break magneto as defined in claim 1, further comprising aconnecting and supporting element for connecting said magnet to saidmagnetic conducting elements, said movable magnetic circuit elementbeing connected with said other conducting element by a bearing meanswhich comprises the walls of bores in one end of said movable magneticcircuit element spaced from its contact surfaces and the walls of boresin one end of said supporting element, said bearing bores beingsubstantially coaxial when said complementary contact surfaces are infull engagement with one another, and a bearing pin extending throughsaid bores but having such an amount of bearing pin extending throughsaid bores but having such an amount of bearing play relative to atleast one of said bore walls that, when said movable magnetic circuitelement is pivoted so as to close the magnetic circuit, said contactsurfaces of said movable magnetic circuit element adapt themselvesautomatically to the associated contact surfaces of said otherconducting element and of said core so as to engage fully thereon.
 4. Amake-and-break magneto as defined in claim 2, in which said supportingelement consists of a nonmagnetic material and has a U-shaped crosssection having two arms embracing and connected to said permanent magnetand at least parts of said conducting elements, the free ends of saidarms containing said bearing bores spaced from said contact surfaces,said one end of said movable magnetic circuit element being disposedbetween said free ends of said arms and spaced at all times from saidother conducting element, said bore in said one end being coaxial withsaid bores in said ends of said arms, said bearing pin extending throughall of said bores.
 5. A make-and-break magneto as defined in claim 1, inwhich said coil means comprises a low-tension coil, said free end ofsaid core projecting entirely through said low-tension coil and beingenlarged and forming said core contact surface and having an outer widthnot exceeding the outer diameter of said low-tension coil, andhigh-tension coil slipped in its axial direction over said core contactsurface and over said low-tension coil.
 6. A make-and-break magneto asdefined in claim 5, in which each of said magnetic conducting elementsincluding said core and said movable magnetic conducting elementconsists of a plurality of sheet iron laminations insulated from oneanother, the opposite outer laminations of said core being thicker thanthe inner laminations thereof and being bent outwardly at right anglesto the axis of said core so as to form a pair of flanges, the outersurfaced of said flanges being disposed within the same plane as the endof said core inner laminations and together forming one of said corecontact surface.
 7. A make-and-break magneto as defined in claim 1, inwhich said other conducting element forms an integral part of saidpermanent magnet.